As part of its goal to improve the health and longevity of our canine companions, the Canadian Kennel Club Foundation announced in November 2014 that the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, was to receive a Foundation grant for lymphoma research.

Lymphoma treatment is costly and a heartache for dog owners and there are many different possible approaches to treatment so it’s important to determine as soon as possible whether the selected approach is working so that alternate treatments can be considered. The research project helps to identify effectiveness of the treatment method.

The objective of the research project was to profile the expression of miRNA in the plasma of healthy control dogs, and compare it to dogs with B cell and T cell lymphoma, and dogs with B cell lymphoma undergoing treatment.

The study initially examined 277 miRNAs previously shown to exist in various canine tissues, which were then reduced to 45 miRNAs. One miRNA showed significantly increased expression at Week 3 of chemotherapy in patients that did not respond to CHOP therapy when compared to patients in remission and relapse.

This study highlights miRNAs that, with further validation, could be used as minimally invasive biomarkers with diagnostic and predictive value in canine lymphoma patients. It could be a step towards a degree of personalized patient medicine in veterinary cancer patients. The researchers of the project have filed a provisional patent on some of the work to protect further development.

To find out how you can support the CKCF’s goals with a donation, and receive a tax-deductible receipt, please contact click here or info@ckcf.ca.